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CHAP. XXXIV.] CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-CONFEDERATE.

he destroyed and the negroes captured. This will involve the troopsof your district going into that of another. This, however, will causeno trouble. It is thought forage can be procured on the river.I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,S. S. ANDERSON,Assistant Adjutant- General.HEADQUARTERS TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT,Shreveport, La., June 5, 1863.Lieut. Gen. T. H. HOLMES,Commanding District of Arkansas:GENERAL: Your letter of the 1st instant has just been received, andI have the honor to reply.Major-General Taylor, with the greater part of his forces, was orderedto advance to a position opposite Vicksburg, with the view of co-oper-ating with Lieutenant-General Pemberton, by breaking the enemy'scommunication and destroying his depots and magazines west of theMississippi. I gave Major-General Taylor his orders to move to thatposition because I considered the great battle for the Trans-MississippiDepartment was to be fought with General Grant. The brigade ofBrigadier-General Tappan was ordered to be moved from Camden toMonroe, to be used as the necessities of Major-General Taylor mightrequire. There is no intention of incorporating it permanently in hisarmy, and as soon as it has accomplished the object of his orders, I shalldirect a return to Camden, or some suitable point in your district.If the rumors of the defeat and probable capture of General Grant'sarny, which have come to this point so repeatedly within the lastweek, are true, you need feel no apprehension about an invasion ofArkansas in force. General Banks is also reported to have been se-verely repulsed at Port Hudson. If these reports are confirmed, it isprobable the enemy will be obliged to mass his forces east of the Mis-sissippi. Should this occur, we may be able to concentrate our forcesin sufficient strength to strike an effective blow for the recovery ofMissouri.You will observe that Major-General Taylor's operations are tempo-rary. He has been ordered to return to Alexandria when he has effectedall he can, and also to send back to Monroe Brigadier-General Tappan'sbrigade.Your obedient servant,E. KIRBY SMITH,Lieutenant- General, Commanding.HEADQUARTERS CARTER'S COMMAND,June 5, 1863.[Maj. HENRY EWING,Assistant Adjutant- General :]MAJOR: It has just been reported by one of Dobbin's men that Bragg,with five days' start, has been re-enforcing Johnston, and Rosecransre-enforcing Grant; also that Johnston has driven Grant, with greatslaughter, before him, refusing him permission to bury his dead, lest heshould take advantage of it to retreat. It is very certain that the enemy

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United States. War Department.The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 22, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence.,
book,
1888;
Washington D.C..
(texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154590/m1/857/?q=Tappan:
accessed November 19, 2018),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.